Various embodiments of the present invention relate to methods and/or apparatus for providing a system for modifying a shower enclosure in order to provide expanded sources of water (as compared with a standard shower head) in order to deliver water in such a way as to provide more complete coverage of a user's body when showering.
Various shower arrangements have been proposed heretofore for providing more complete body coverage with shower spray than is afforded by the usual single shower head located in the vicinity of, or above, the user's head.
Some prior art systems provide multi-output shower heads, whereby much of the structure of the system is behind the walls of the shower. These shower systems are installed such that the pipes and fittings of the systems are installed behind the walls with spray spouts being exposed into the shower enclosure. Such in-wall shower systems are associated with a number of drawbacks, including: (i) requiring expertise and specialized consultation for design, installation, and maintenance, which is costly and time-consuming; and (ii) in the case of existing shower enclosures, requiring destruction of substantial portions of the shower enclosure during installation in order to distribute the piping and fittings necessary to achieve an in-wall water supply.
Some prior art arrangements are designed as attachments to a conventional shower enclosure and provide additional shower heads and/or other water exit structures within the shower. These conventional systems, however, do not provide an entirely satisfactory overall spray pattern because they have not taken into consideration the salient physical characteristics of an existing shower enclosure. Some such systems provide additional shower heads at the same vertical level as the existing shower head of the enclosure. Other systems, although providing some shower heads below the vertical level of the existing shower head, require very elaborate, specialized arrangements that require special manufacture and professional skill to install properly.
It has been discovered, however, that with proper thought and design, an easily installed (retrofitting) system may be provided in which substantially full water coverage of the user's body may be achieved.